Master X Master: Master Yuri Thoughts

The latest character to join the Master X Master cast is Yuri, CEO of Cell. Yuri Tchaikovsky is an interesting character. Yuri doesn’t sound like a very Russian name, but that’s not what I’m here to dissect. She’s an Ardent [Fire/Red] Type, and is a Melee-type, built heavily around her abilities. She can literally punch incoming projectiles out of the air, but her punch, while incredibly powerful, is also horrifyingly slow. She has an “8” difficulty, which is probably due to her melee range, low speed, attack and otherwise. She’s fun though, and while her melee won’t get far, her skills, which is where she really shines, will dash, leap or charge forward, getting to her target with ease.

Yuri is the descendant of immigrants from the earth and grew up on earth’s third settlement on Amaari. Not only is Yuri a member of the Tchaikovsky family, one of the richest families in the third settlement, but she has taken on the mantle of her father, after his death, as CEO of Cell. She is both intellectually bright–receiving a higher education since she was young–and talented martial artists–having been groomed by veteran Masters thanks to her family’s affluent contributions to the war effort. Yuri, while quite adept in close combat, connected with something deeper during her training. She began to understand the connections between the skills of a Master, and their ability to harness SOL. Yuri focused on this aspect, knowing that if she were to learn to control SOL energy, there would be no limit to her strength.

Weapon/Skills/Nodes:

So let’s look at her as a whole. This is a game where characters innate difficulty/weaknesses are not the end of the world, as you can pair them with almost anyone. You either accentuate their strengths or do something to cover up their weaknesses. She’s a Skirmisher/Melee, which means she’s going to come out of nowhere as soon as an opportunity presents itself, and punch her foes into custard. All Masters have three styles to their weapon, hers being the “Cosmic Aegis” fist. The primary is Weapon Damage, which has a +39 to damage, and each of the three levels raises it further. The second option [my preferred] is Range. It adds +20 cm to the range of her fist and adds +20, +20, and then +40. It comes in the form of a small shockwave that shoots from her fist with each punch. The final option is Attack Speed, and each level lowers it by 0.05 seconds. I’m not really sure that it is worth it unless you build solely around Attack Speed/Penetration on your Nodes. Personally, I prefer the range. I like to pair her with a ranged character/a character with an initiate, and use the range on her fists for when they invariably try to escape. Remember, MXM you can set two of your four abilities to whichever button you please.

Currently, I’m using Sol Kick, and Cosmic Flurry as my abilities, which I enjoy using together for synergy purposes. My big combo with it is pretty obvious. If they’re far away, I initiate with a partner, Sol Crush, Sol Kick, and then Cosmic Flurry or Sol Fist to finish them off. It’s all about utilizing these skills as frequently as possible, that’s where her big numbers lie. As far as Nodes, I’ve gotten her up to 89% compatibility with what I have presently on offer. My current set up has 78% Offensive Compatbility, 0% Defensive Compatbility, and Auxillary is at 100%. For what I’m using at my present level, I have CDR [4.1%], Skill Pen [1.7%], and Skill Power [+24] for Auxillary, and for Offensive I’m using Weapon Damage [2.4%], Weapon Damage [2%] and more Weapon Damage [1.6%]

Partners:

Personally I’ve been having a lot of fun with YurixLua. Lua has very fast, solid range with her gun, a poke with Shrapnel Blast, and more important than that, I can use her Claymore Charge to dash into melee range. From there, tag out, get that brief invulnerability, and then start punching/popping skills. Then when I need to get out, I have a variety of dashes, swap back over, and poke with rockets. She’s a Kinetic [Blue/Water], and Mid-Range, so she’s just far away enough. Another very popular choice with me is Cagnazzo. I have him set up just to pull/leap, with Ripline for the hook, and Savage Leap for the Initiate. You really have to consider how you’re going to get in and out with Yuri. You could choose to have Yuri first, dash in, deal damage, swap to Cagnazzo and use Savage Leap to get away or to get to a new target. Anyone who can get in, or get out quickly after damage is dealt, that’s the key. She’s fun in all modes of the game, strong, but very squishy. Whether you want to pair her with a wall, or just another damage fountain, she’s got what it takes to bring a lot of exciting plays to Master X Master. Yuri is the Sol-Touched, a unique character for the game, and honestly? A hell of a lot of fun. 10/10, will punch again.